Obtaining driving permit to compete in Rally Hokkaido

In order to compete in Rally Hokkaido, both a driver and a co-driver are required to possess valid driver licenses permitted to drive in Japan.

Holders of international licenses issued under 1949 Geneva Conventions are approved to drive in Japan. On the other hand, please note the ones issued under 1968 Vienna Conventions are not considered as valid.
Please refer the following website of Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department for the list of signatory of 1949 Geneva Conventions:http://www.keishicho.metro.tokyo.jp/foreign/traffic/geneva.htm

In addition to the above, holders of drivers license issued in Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium and Taiwan (ROC) are also approved to driver in Japan when their license is combined with valid translation document, per bilateral conventions between those countries and Japan.

All the others are required to go through “Gaimen Kirikae” (switch from overseas license) process and obtain a valid license. The Gaimen Kirikae requires validation of the applicants’ domestic drivers’ licenses, passport (all of its pages) as well as Japanese translation of the drivers license issued by either JAF (local ASN in Japan) or embassy of the issuing country. There may be more additional documents/materials required based on the issuing country and types of license. If you would like to proceed to Gaimen Kirikae, please contact the permanent secretariat of Rally Hokkaido in email in advance. When those required documents/materials are ready, we will submit them to appropriate authority in advance, and make sure your application is complete and accepted. (NOTE: This process may take as long as 3 months, so please contact us as soon as you are determined to enter the rally, but before submitting entry form to us).

Applicants will then need to take a course of examinations, consisting of driving skill test, written examination and eligibility test. In order to obtain license, applicants must pass all of those three examinations. Thus, we, permanent secretariat of Rally Hokkaido, require all the applicants to go through driving classes at a local driving school, prior to taking those examinations. At this stage, you will be requested to submit a proof document of your stay during the driving exam, as well as your photograph.
Driving skill check is waived for the holders of the drivers’ licenses of the following countries:
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Korea, Luxemburg, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Taiwan

For details, please contact the following address (please replace * with @ ).